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Books Quiz - Author - Oscar Wilde (Questions)

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin. He went to both Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford before moving to London to pursue a career as a writer. He wrote a variety of different material, from poetry to fairy stories. He wrote just one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray and is most famous for his plays, The Importance of Being Earnest perhaps his best known work.

Despite being married, Wilde also had a homosexual relationship with the son of a lord. This was illegal at the time and consequently he was gaoled for two years. This destroyed his career and after his release he spent the rest of his life abroad. He died in 1900 at the age of 46.

Oscar Wilde could never be accused of not speaking his mind - he is as well known for his exploits in court as for his literary genius! See how much you know about his life and his works in this quiz.

1. Wilde was born in which city in 1854?
[ ] Belfast
[ ] Dublin
[ ] Edinburgh
[ ] London
2.

What was Wilde's father's profession?

[ ] Architect
[ ] Army officer
[ ] Solicitor
[ ] Surgeon
3. What is the title of Wilde's only novel?
[ ] The Picture of Damien Gray
[ ] The Picture of Declan Gray
[ ] The Picture of Dominic Gray
[ ] The Picture of Dorian Gray
4. What is the name of the governess in Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest?
[ ] Miss Pretty
[ ] Miss Prim
[ ] Miss Prism
[ ] Miss Prissy
5. What is the title of Wilde's four act comedy, first produced in 1892?
[ ] Lady Waterfall's Fan
[ ] Lady Wilberforce's Fan
[ ] Lady Windermere's Fan
[ ] Lady Windrush's Fan
6. Whom did Wilde unsuccessfully sue for slander in 1895?
[ ] The Marquess of Granby
[ ] The Marquess of Liverpool
[ ] The Marquess of Londonderry
[ ] The Marquess of Queensberry
7. What is the name of the Chelsea street in which the house where Wilde once lived now carries a blue plaque from English Heritage?
[ ] Bite Street
[ ] Kite Street
[ ] Rite Street
[ ] Tite Street
8. Wilde's 1891 play tells the story of which Biblical character?
[ ] Delilah
[ ] Jezebel
[ ] Salome
[ ] Sheba
9. Wilde's 1893 play A Woman of No Importance is set in which English country house?
[ ] Hungerford
[ ] Hunslet
[ ] Hunstanton
[ ] Huntingdon
10. Jack Worthing, the central character in The Importance of Being Earnest, is found as a baby in a handbag in the cloakroom of which railway station?
[ ] Euston
[ ] Paddington
[ ] Victoria
[ ] Waterloo

 

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Books Quiz - Author - Oscar Wilde (Answers)
1. Wilde was born in which city in 1854?
[ ] Belfast
[x] Dublin
[ ] Edinburgh
[ ] London
Wilde was born at 21 Westland Row, which is now the home of the Oscar Wilde Centre
2.

What was Wilde's father's profession?

[ ] Architect
[ ] Army officer
[ ] Solicitor
[x] Surgeon
He was a leading eye and ear surgeon
3. What is the title of Wilde's only novel?
[ ] The Picture of Damien Gray
[ ] The Picture of Declan Gray
[ ] The Picture of Dominic Gray
[x] The Picture of Dorian Gray
The story is about a man who sells his soul so that a painting of him will age whilst he himself keeps hold of his youthful beauty
4. What is the name of the governess in Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest?
[ ] Miss Pretty
[ ] Miss Prim
[x] Miss Prism
[ ] Miss Prissy
She's governess to Cecily Cardew
5. What is the title of Wilde's four act comedy, first produced in 1892?
[ ] Lady Waterfall's Fan
[ ] Lady Wilberforce's Fan
[x] Lady Windermere's Fan
[ ] Lady Windrush's Fan
The play is a satire of 19th Century society and its moral values
6. Whom did Wilde unsuccessfully sue for slander in 1895?
[ ] The Marquess of Granby
[ ] The Marquess of Liverpool
[ ] The Marquess of Londonderry
[x] The Marquess of Queensberry
Queensberry is most famous for giving his name to the rules of boxing
7. What is the name of the Chelsea street in which the house where Wilde once lived now carries a blue plaque from English Heritage?
[ ] Bite Street
[ ] Kite Street
[ ] Rite Street
[x] Tite Street
Tite Street has been home to several famous names other than Oscar Wilde, such as the artists James Whistler and John Singer Sargent
8. Wilde's 1891 play tells the story of which Biblical character?
[ ] Delilah
[ ] Jezebel
[x] Salome
[ ] Sheba
Wilde's play Salomé was written originally in French and later translated into English
9. Wilde's 1893 play A Woman of No Importance is set in which English country house?
[ ] Hungerford
[ ] Hunslet
[x] Hunstanton
[ ] Huntingdon
The play was first performed at London's Haymarket Theatre and, like many of Wilde's plays, it satirises the British upper class
10. Jack Worthing, the central character in The Importance of Being Earnest, is found as a baby in a handbag in the cloakroom of which railway station?
[ ] Euston
[ ] Paddington
[x] Victoria
[ ] Waterloo
The Importance of Being Earnest was Wilde's last play. He was sentenced to prison 3 months after it opened and his career came to an end